Howitzer

Loading a WWI U.S 15 in (381 mm) howitzer

A howitzer or hauwitzer is a type of field artillery. The name is of Germanized origin and derives from the Czech word houfnice, denoting a 15th century cannon used by Hussites during the Hussite Wars. Howitzers are distinguished from other types of cannon artillery by their trajectory in that they tend to fire at high angles and deliver plunging fire. In addition to this, the barrel of a howitzer is commonly below 30 calibers (the length of the barrel is less than 30 times as long as the diameter of the bore), whereas other cannon and field guns tend to fire at no more than 45° and have a caliber of 30 or over. Development of the gun-howitzer, a weapon that can fire at both high and low angles was continued after the Second World War. With much longer barrels than howitzers, barrel lengths of 39, 45 or longer are now common, they have replaced separate guns and howitzers on the battlefield.

155 mm M198 howitzer

Modern howitzers are either towed or self-propelled (Self-propelled artillery, where they mix the maneuverability and to some extent the protection of tanks with their heavy firepower.

Small howitzers can be towed by a light vehicle or carried by helicopter. Most are towed by five-ton or larger trucks.

The "pack" howitzer (such as the 25 Pounder Short Mark 1) has existed since before the First World War. It can be disassembled into several main components and carried by mule through very difficult terrain, although the gun size is still a limiting factor and smaller howitzers have generally been abandoned in favor of larger guns with greater capabilities.

Modern self-propelled howitzers such as the South African G6 fire 105 to 155 mm diameter shells up to about 25–30 km at a maximum rate of about 10 per minute.

The Dutch, German, Italian and Greek armies have been using or will be using PzH 2000 howitzer (155 mm, self-propelled) shortly.

The Big Bertha was a large, 42 centimeter howitzer used in the German push of 1914. The gun was based on a similar 42 centimeter gun manufactured for a short while by Krupp for the German military.

19th century 12 pounder (5 kg) mountain howitzer displayed by the National Park Service at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, USA

That similar, older 42 centimeter gun was based almost completely on a gun designed by Louis Gathmann in the late 1800s. Louis was known as the inventor of the "Big Berthas" up through his death in June of 1917.

In November 1990 British customs officers seized parts of a 1000 mm howitzer destined for the Iraq Project Babylon "supergun", which, had it been built, would have been the largest gun ever constructed.

Examples

French TRF1 155 mm howitzer

25 pounder - WW2 gun-howitzer
25 Pounder Short Mark 1 - WW2 pack howitzer
M107 - typical modern howitzer shell
L118 howitzer Modern 105 mm, towed gun-howitzer (also L119 variant)
M198 howitzer Modern 155 mm, towed gun-howitzer
M109 howitzer Modern 155 mm self-propelled howitzer
SSPH Primus Modern 155 mm self propelled gun-howitzer
PzH 2000 Modern 155 mm self propelled gun-howitzer
M110 howitzer Post WW2 8 inch self-propelled howitzer

For more examples, see List of artillery

Howitzer

Examples

See Also